Our partners at iNNO SED met an early November 2025 for an annual General Asssembly meeting to discuss progress and future initiatives. Hosted by our partners at the Jaroslav Černi Water Institute in Belgrade and set next to the Danube itself, everyone chipped in on issues, knowledge and findings encountered at the various demo sites.
Breakout sessions were held over two days allowing partners narrow in on all aspects of technology, challenges, outreach and other important particularities. New ideas, approaches and perspectives sprung about with increased clarity and awareness about uncertainties and even disputes. But overall, it was clear from these days that passion for solutions and the creation of new knowledge was present.
Additionally, with a pleasant forecast and adventurous ambitions, our hosting partners took a few of us on a beautiful bus journey along the Danube with the Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Plant as our destination.
About 100 km to the east of Belgrade, we made it to the widest section of the Danube River. Generously, plenty of scenic stops for landscape photography and talks about regional knowledge were facilitated!
A stop at the archaeological site Lepenski Vir yielded a bit of existential contemplation learning about the earliest presence of humans in Europe and making us consider how we’ve done in the region since.
Before we forgot that we were here to study sediment issues and management, we were taken further along the Danube to sites where some of our partners had worked. Specifically along the most scenic stretches of the Iron Gate-gorge of the Danube River flanked by impressive carbonate cliffs – not a bad office to work.
Finally, taking us about 250 km to the east of Belgrade, we arrived at our intended destination: The first Iron Gate Hydroelectric Dam. Stretching over a kilometre across the Danube into both Serbia and Romania, the power station here is an important source of electricity for the region.
After a lot of information absorbed, it was time to head back where we came from, and so ended an eventful and scenic 3-day general assembly. The beauty of these in-person meetings can not be overstated – new visions, tasks and ideas came about with renewed desire for results and strives for solutions.
